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Apple makes another advancement by quietly acquiring DarwinAI

What is the news?

Bloomberg broke the news that Apple acquired Waterloo-based DarwinAI earlier this year.

What does DarwinAI do?

DarwinAI uses AI to inspect manufacturing processes.

Why did Apple purchase Darwin?

Darwin worked on improving the speed and size of its AI models. Apple is interested in AI that works directly on devices, not in the cloud. Smaller, faster models would be beneficial for this. It seems Apple bought Darwin mainly for its skilled team, who now work for Apple.

Was this a win for the company?

This is unclear as the company has raised USD 15m to date and the deal terms were announced.

Apple does not have to disclose the terms of a deal unless they are material to them. Given Apple's size, the deal would be large before they would need to disclose details of the purchase.

Why keep the news quiet?

Apple has little to gain from tipping its acquisition strategy to potential targets or competitors. They are better off rolling in the company quietly and using the technology.

Takeaways for the community:

This is a reminder that AI companies are no different than typical startups. Many will have revenue and get acquired but very few will be massive exits.

Also, Apple likes moving in the background. Clearly.

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